Non-Peace Weekend - Investigation

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[Two weeks have passed since your arrival. The Researcher has delivered a pair of motives, promising to reward some or punish others if rule 7 is not enacted by the end of the week.]

[Today is Friday, the deadline for your incentives. There is no morning announcement today.]

[Maybe It's nothing, but you might notice a faint, odd metallic scent in the air as you exit your bedrooms this morning.]

[Proceed with caution, Participants.]

Comments

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[Skipping to the end, that's just terrible. It might take a little searching, but the history section ends just before the section titled 'Relevant Technological Advances'.]

Due to unknown circumstances, subject was destroyed in combat against trainee P. Nikos. Aftermath was ridiculous but made retrieval easy enough.

Reconstruction was tedious, but insight into Project Equinox was worth it. No further direct use for subject, maybe put it into the study. Should be funny if nothing else.

[windowsexplorer]

[Excuse you she read every word.

AND SHE KIND OF REGRETS THESE LAST FEW SENTENCES? WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING TODAY? The tone makes it sound not so bad, like it was just a matter of putting her back together, but that is definitely not what "destroyed in combat" sounds like?? And what's with this calling her an "it?" "Should be funny?" What the hell? She's upset, offended, and worried all at the same time.

And intrigued. "Relevant Technological Advances" wouldn't happen to explain what a Project Equinox is, would it?]

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[If that was bad, the references Penny's lack of belief in her own status as a "real girl" were probably worse, Meredith. We're sorry.]

[And there's a few references to it? The Technological Advances section talks about Penny as being capable of generating some sort of personal energy called an Aura, which is also vaguely discussed, but sounds sort of metaphysical and maybe soul-adjacent? And the technology which allows her to do as such was apparently developed in tandem with whatever 'Project Equinox' is.]

[windowsexplorer]

[I mean, those made her sad. This pissed her off.

But oho. Project Equinox has something to do with metaphysical robot souls (a concept she does not question for obvious reasons). That sounds intensely relevant.

Anything else to find in this file?]

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[A whole lot of notes about Penny's totally-not-girlfriend Ruby, her two dads, and her sweet monster-slaying swords-backpack-thing, if Meredith's gonna read long enough.]

[And a psychological evaluation talking about Penny's various neuroses and need to help people.]

[Also the hiccuping thing? It means she's lying. That's either really worrying or sort of cute, depending on your perspective.]

[windowsexplorer]

[Listen. Meredith is going to read literally every word of this file.

Family she needs to be returned to, preferably with her memory intact. Really good friend Meredith finds herself feeling intensely envious of. Penny psychologically needs to help people, that's not a big surprise. Hiccupping thing, interesting--oh she was really worried on motive day... Swords-backpack thing, sounds super awesome, want to see.

Meredith now knows considerably more about Penny than Penny herself does, although that isn't really difficult right now.

I guess that's it for The Penny File?]

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[That's it for the Penny file.]

[Going back to collecting the rest?]

[windowsexplorer]

[Yep. Any more surprise names?]

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[Well, the file with Meredith's own name might be a little surprising, in that it almost certainly confirms her suspicions about her origins, but no really surprising names, per se.]

[Eventually, you've collected twenty-one complete profiles, or at least mostly complete, one for every person you've met... in person, in the last two weeks.]

[There are a few stray scraps left, looks like, near the android's body?]

[windowsexplorer]

[There's... a lot to unpack in her file, honestly. A certain Type: Green comes up a lot, and... wait, Meredith is the one investigating here.

So nobody's conspicuously missing or anything, then. That makes those scraps over by the body seem super extra interesting. Let's see if there's anything left to read there!]

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[It's all pretty much ash, but there's one corner of paper that has- not even really words, just a few visible letters left.]

N M Hod p

[windowsexplorer]

[Aha! They're dealing with a New Mexico hodgepodge!

...

No, actually she's got nothing. There are a few familiar letters in there, but there were only 26 to choose from to begin with, so... She just enters the scrap into evidence hoping something will make its meaning more clear.

Well, that's it for the folders she guesses. She goes to check on her password guesser, then has a sudden related thought...

She's still got the crystal on her. If she puts her thumb in the indent again, does anything different happen?]

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[My goodness, you've cracked the code.]

[But yeah, maybe something someone else found will make it clearer? And in the meantime, the crystal- does the same thing it did in the greenhouse, and when Neku checked it. No signal, for now.]

[windowsexplorer]

[And just to make sure, she doesn't herself now suddenly have a wi-fi signal, does she?]

[mockmods]

[Nope, sorry. And if she checks it, the password guesser is still having no luck.]

[windowsexplorer]

[What, so it isn't 1111111DGY5B? Shocking?

Well, she guesses she's done over here for now. She'll take the electronic ID with her so the guesser can keep trying or in case they find a hint, and take another look around the office area. Anything else interesting, or is she done over here?]

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[It actually isn't! There's also the small manner of this device not having the user name autofilled, so there's roughly double-infinity combinations to try.]

[And, well, looks like the man formerly known as Nameless Android 1 was making a run for something when he got Patches'd?]

[windowsexplorer]

[Alas! The password could have been 111111111111 but if the username wasn't aaaaaaaaaa it still wouldn't have worked...

Hm. Can we figure out more or less what direction he was going?]

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[Looks like he was headed in the general direction of the back of the room!]

[windowsexplorer]

[Hm. Anything look interesting in that direction?]

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[If you head that way, there's a large, circular pad of some kind that was once made of some kind of white-frosted glass material, but is now mostly made of melting and regret.]

[A large series of wires and tubes come off from the pad, leading to a small stand with some kind of glowing red screen on it, sort of like the one that let you into the room to begin with.]

[windowsexplorer]

[This is clearly the launch pad that the rocket lifted off from that was carrying the Researcher's opinion of himself.

Poking the screen seems like a good idea. Poke.]

[mockmods]

[Just poking at it yields no response, sorry. It actually sort of looks like the electronic locks on the dorms, if you look closer?]

[windowsexplorer]

[Oh really? Then maybe it'll respond to having a certain shiny not-phone waved in front of it!

She hopes it responds to waving. Password guesser is still only up to aaaaaaaaaa/1117!KH&8F.]

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[The pad blinks green for a second-]

[And then lets out a short, disgruntled tone, flashes an error message, and goes back to red.]

TRANSMAT SYSTEM OFFLINE